You Have More Power Than You Think
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The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion.
Paulo Coelho
All parents are hypocrites.
We don’t always follow our own advice.
This doesn’t mean we are bad parents. It means we are human.
If our behavior is somewhat consistent with our advice, our children might treat our advice as worth consideration.
However, the most powerful example is admitting when we fall short and then correcting our behavior.
Some parents believe that acknowledging their flaws undermines their authority.
It’s just the opposite.
The more honest we are, the more credibility our opinions have.
The most powerful persuasion parents have is their example.
This is true for all of us, whether we are parents or not.
Leaders have the greatest influence through their example.
You may not think of yourself as a leader.
But if you are reading this, you are definitely a leader.
You may not have an official title, but you are someone who has a growth mindset.
You value honesty, integrity, and learning.
You may not realize it, but people are watching you and are influenced by your actions.
What you do influences the behavior of the person in line behind you at the grocery store.
The same is true for the server at the restaurant.
Even your neighbor is persuaded by your actions.
If you are like me, you see many things in the world you want to change.
You’d like somebody to do something about them.
We are somebody.
Our actions shape the world for better or for worse.
You may think you have little influence.
But that’s all you need.
Influence works just like money you are saving for retirement.
The real power of influence comes from compounding.
Small actions repeated over time compound and produce a surprisingly substantial impact.
But there is another way our influence compounds.
The person at the grocery store, the server, and the neighbor all have their own network of people they influence.
When you influence them, you are also influencing their network.
This expands exponentially.
You have much more influence than you realize.
We don’t have to wait for our leaders to fix what is wrong with the world.
We can harness the power of compounding and the network effect to make a real difference.
Never underestimate the power of a positive example.
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